


Summer (Delayed)

by MoonlightShines (Thatkillervibe)



Series: Killervibe Week 2018 [4]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barbecue, Canon Compliant, Cute Ending, Established Relationship, Everyone forgets that Joanie Horton is a character, F/M, Fluff, Gambling, I didn't forget you, Iris is ashamed of her husband, Killervibe Week, Killervibe Week 2018, Oblivious Barry, Post Season 4, Summer, hi Joanie, probably in the year 4052, season 4, she betted against him, sorta - Freeform, this fic made me want to eat s'mores, where's wally
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 18:22:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15006680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatkillervibe/pseuds/MoonlightShines
Summary: This summer has been lazy, quiet and hot. It was rather nice. Star Labs hasn’t had any giant level emergency in several weeks and it was just enough of a break for the team to trick themselves into thinking they led normal lives. Joe began to host Saturday dinner, partially to appease everyone from pestering to see his adorable baby, and partially because he too fell into the desire of assuming nonchalance.Killervibe Fanfic Week 2018 Day 4: Free Day





	Summer (Delayed)

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this several weeks ago and decided to keep it for this week in case I wasn’t done my monster fic that was slotted for today. I’m not done. Fear not! That fic fits under Established Relationship and so this will take it’s place :) This is pretty much an in canon fic except Nora didn’t show up at the last minute and Cynthia and Cisco broke up several months earlier.

“Hey,” Barry says to Cisco, sitting down next to him on the lawn couch of Joe’s patio deck. The scent of barbecue was thick in the hot weather, wafting from Joe’s burger flipping.

Cisco tips his chilled beer up in greeting, sitting up from his sprawled state to give Barry some more room.

This summer has been lazy, quiet and hot. It was rather nice. Star Labs hasn’t had any giant level emergency in several weeks and it was just enough of a break for the team to trick themselves into pretending they led normal lives. Joe began to host Saturday dinner, partially to appease everyone from pestering to see his adorable baby, and partially because he too fell into the desire of assuming nonchalance.

“Where’s Iris?” Cisco asked, craning his head for his best friend’s wife.

“She’s cooing over her baby sister with Joanie.”

“Ah,” Cisco says. “You getting worried?”

Barry shifts nervously, scratching his head, “No, I mean—If it happens I wouldn’t be upset but, no I think we’re on the same page that children are in our more distant future.”

“I think I want one.”

Barry chokes, “A baby?”

“Boy you really  _do_ get clammy about children. Calm down, cowboy, I didn’t mean today! But yeah, I’ve been thinking about it…It’s something I think I want…Sooner than later, actually.”

Barry scrunches up his face, trying to hide his amusement. “You need to find someone who’d want your baby first,” he points out. It would’ve sounded condescending if it came from anyone else, but this was Barry and he was being genuine. 

Cisco gives him a blank stare, but then he shakes his head, closes his eyes and chuckles. “…Right.”

Joe calls Barry over to grab a plate for the hamburgers and Cisco tries to sit back comfortably in his seat. He slides his shades to his forehead and rubs his eyes, tired from the strain of the glaring sun.

“Hey,” a voice says, silky and smooth next to his ear. He peeks an eye open to see curled brown hair hanging over his shoulder.

Caitlin is leaning over him from behind the couch, in a sleeveless blouse and red shorts.

“Hi,” he smiles, reaching his hands up to give her a half assed pat on her cheek. “Come sit.”

Caitlin takes the three steps required to come around and curls herself against Cisco’s side. He opens the cooler and dives his hand into the ice to rummage for the iced tea she likes. He shakes his hand dry as Caitlin accepts the drink with a satisfied sigh, popping open the can’s tab with her nails.

Barry returns to take their orders and does a double take after looking up to confirm that Caitlin wants cheese on hers, but Cisco doesn’t on his. Barry tilts his head to the side and opens his mouth, painfully obvious that he wants to say something but then closes it just as quickly. He blinks and turns around to find Joe shaking his head and waving his metal spatula in exasperation. Barry frowns, oblivious, and Cisco already knows what he’s going to ask but wants to watch him squirm his way through it.

“Uh…Guys?” He says.

“Yes, Barry?” Caitlin answers patiently. She flickers her gaze at Cisco and puts her hand on his knee, and it takes all of him to not burst out laughing then and there to realize Caitlin is running with this.

Barry’s eyes fall to Caitlin’s hand on his leg. He clears his throat and blushes.

“Is there something…Am I missing…?” He gives up and turns to the house. “Iris!”

Iris opens the screen door and steps over the separator in her strappy sandals. “Yeah, babe?”

He gestures wildly at Caitlin and Cisco and at this point Joe is pinching the bridge of his nose in defeat.

Iris stares at them nonplused. “Barry, what exactly is it that I’m supposed to be looking at?”

“Yeah, man, you okay? Dehydrated, maybe? Do you need some water?” Cisco chimes, acting concerned.

Barry splutters.

Caitlin smirks, stretching her arms over her head, “Cisco, I think we fried his brain.”

“Yeah, we might as well get it over with.”

Cisco turns to Caitlin, tucking a stray piece of hair behind his ear and lifts an eyebrow flirtatiously at her. “So, you gonna kiss me, querida?”

Caitlin’s cheeks turns light pink. She sets her ice tea down on the coaster of the outdoor coffee table, then proceeds to grab him by the lapel of his shirt to reel him in for a searing kiss.

The whole backyard starts whooping and cheering (Ralph by far the loudest) and Cisco has to throw a hand out behind him on the couch for support, feeling seriously lightheaded.

Barry stares open-mouthed at the two, then back at Iris, and then for additional confirmation spins on his heel to gather Joe’s reaction, who is now with Cecile.

Cisco blinks back to focus and grins at his girlfriend. “Wow. So that happened.”

Caitlin pulls away and pats down the frizz from her hair, looking down at the ground with a small amused smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, flustered yet pleased.

“I’m the last one, aren’t I?” Barry mumbles finally, rightfully embarrassed.

“We all placed bets, bud,” Cecile confessed, hiking baby Jenna higher up her chest.

Barry scoffs, mildly offended, and turns to Iris for comfort, but then gasps at finding her digging through her pockets to hand her father a ten dollar bill.

“Seriously?” 

Iris raised her hands in surrender. “Detecting attraction was never your forte, honey.”

“Okay, whatever,” Barry waves her off, focusing back on his two best friends wanting to get the details. “How long?”

Cisco hums noncommittedly, and Caitlin shrugs. They give each other a secret shared look. “A while,” they both say at the same time.

“A while…” Barry repeats faintly, gladly accepting the Corona Joe presses into his hand as he sits down in a lawn chair across from them.

“You never noticed Caitlin stopped driving her car to work? She’d always go back home with me.”

“I thought you were carpooling!”

Iris looks at Barry in utter bafflement. He gives her an honest to god  _I really thought that_ face and she has walk away wordlessly from second hand embarrassment. 

Cisco continues, “But what about the time Cait fell during practice right before we beat Devoe and I practically slept in the Med Bay bed with her for an hour?”

“You always do that,” Caitlin reminds him gently, kissing his cheek.  

She looks over at Cecile adjusting her daughter in her carrier, “Or what about when we went together to Jenna’s baby dedication at Cecile’s church?”

“You always go to things together! It never occurred to me!” Barry insisted.

“We were holding hands the entire time!”

“Aww” Joanie coos, “Fact check! I actually remember that! You guys are so pure,” She sighs. Cecile whacks her in the arm to shut up.

“Hey,” Ralph spoke up, “You almost caught them making out in the med lab just last week!”

“I thought Caitlin was giving Cisco a check up!” Barry protests weakly, and Joe laughs so hard he starts to wheeze.

“I’m sorry guys,” He says earnestly, bending forward in his seat towards them, radiating guilt.

“We’re not mad, Barry.” Caitlin promises, “We never hid it but…I guess we never told you either and that’s our fault. Maybe we didn’t want to bring attention to ourselves. We love things how they are, we didn’t want that to change. It wasn’t on purpose, we promise.”

“It will take a while to get used to,” Barry admits, but he stands up and stretches his arms out, waving them over for a group hug. “As long as you’re happy. That’s all I ever wanted for the both of you. And if what makes you happy is each other, then bonus points, right?”

Cisco and Caitlin smile and rise to their feet to embrace in a Team Flash hug.

“Now if you are all finished with the sentimentality show, dinner is ready!” Joe announces. Cecile cheers and everyone shuffles apart, heading to the outdoor dinner table for the West Barbecue to commence.

 

~.~

 

The sun has set, and the fireflies are coming out, blinking on and off in the summer haze. The Wests were wrapping things up, Iris and Joanie help Joe bring in chairs and garbage, banning Barry from speed-cleaning it all away.

With nothing to do Barry heads back to the deck. He stops at the step of the patio, when he finds his two best friends enrapt in an intimate conversation unaware of the world around them. Cisco and Caitlin: two people he’s known separately and together for almost five years now and yet Barry finds himself looking at them in a different light.

“You two are meant for each other, aren’t you?” He says as he watches them fondly, revering in how relaxed Caitlin is, her legs draped over Cisco’s lap, hair spilling over the edge of the couch where she tipped her head back, still laughing at one of Cisco’s stories. How Cisco kisses her bare mosquito bitten shoulder and then her forehead, leaning his head against the side of hers, brushing her hair back, blushing and smiling foolishly. His eyes are glinting in a way that makes Cisco ten times brighter than he already is.

It was like seeing himself in the mirror when he was with Iris. Caitlin looked at Cisco the way Iris looked at Barry.

It makes Barry feel dumb for not noticing it before. They were in love. 

“Yeah,” Cisco says, tearing his eyes away from his girlfriend, finally responding to Barry. He laces his fingers with Caitlin, unabashed, and grins up at him. “We are.”


End file.
